Stefanik opens Bible to nominate Jordan as speaker

Good news: Some evidence there is indeed an afterlife

By Ken Tingley

Speaking from the well in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Rep. Elise Stefanik was reminded of the book of Esther.

That’s what she said.

While preparing to nominate Rep. Jim Jordan to be speaker of the house, she cited Jordan as the right person “for such a time as this.”

Her point seemed to be that god had called him to save, well, it’s not clear who god called him to save.

Was it the Jews - as Esther did - or was it the country, or maybe just the Republican Party?

While Stefanik was going all Biblical, I was reminded of Shakespeare in the Merchant of Venice. “The devil can cite scripture for his purpose” it says in the first act.

I’m not saying that Rep. Stefanik is the devil, but you probably can make a better case for Jordan being the devil, than being a savior.

Jim Jordan has never passed a single piece of legislation during his 17 years in the House of Representatives.

That would seem to make him the least qualified member of the Republican caucus “for a time such as this.”

But Elise Stefanik knows the Bible - and Jim Jordan - better than I.

Consider some of Jordan’s history:

- Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach from 1987 to 1995 and is accused of turning a blind eye to the sexual abuse by the team physician to wrestlers on the team. The team physician later committed suicide.

- The Jan. 6 Committee described Jordan as “a significant player” in Trump’s plan to overturn the 2020 election. There is plenty of evidence that he was involved with many of the other players.

- When Jordan was subpoenaed to answer questions by the Jan. 6 Committee, he snubbed the legal authority of the body he now wants to lead.

- In the days before Jan. 6, Jordan led a call with President Trump and others on how the congressional certification of the Electoral College could be delayed while encouraging Trump supporters to come to the Capitol.

- Twice Jordan talked to Trump on Jan. 6 but he has been inconsistent regarding what was said between the two men.

- The night of Jan. 6, he objected to the electoral vote.

- Earlier this year, he started an investigation into President Biden that has not uncovered any wrongdoing so far.

“For such a time as this.”

“Jim is the voice of the American people who have felt voiceless for far too long,” Stefanik said during her nominating speech. “ Whether as judiciary chair, conservative leader or representative for his constituents in West Central Ohio. Whether on the wrestling mat or in the committee room, Jim Jordan is a strategic, scrappy, tough and principled.”

It was that last line that drew audible gasps from the Democrats on the floor of the House.

Mentioning Jordan’s wrestling background was a bridge too far considering the accusations by some of his former students that he had to know about the abuse.

They probably didn’t know Esther as well as Stefanik.

There is long and dark history of politicians posing as charlatans regarding their knowledge and use of the Bible for their own devices.

It’s a red flag to use “For a time such as this.”

The afterlife

Awhile back a reader suggested a news site called “The brighter side of news.”

I had been lamenting the burnout from reading a steady died of bad news and told my readers I would try to find more good news to report. I probably failed in that regard.

But this week I found a story about a cancer doctor who believes in the afterlife after studying the near-death experiences of thousands of people.

Dr. Jeffrey Long is a cancer expert in Kentucky who was once a skeptic. Long documented over 5,000 accounts in more than 30 different languages from every imaginable type of background and religion - I think that last part is really important.

The doctor is not selling us a religion.

Near-death experiences are defined as lucid experiences undergone by clinically dead or comatose individuals, where they still feel emotions, interact with beings, see and hear.

He went on to found the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation, offering a space for people all over the world to post their spiritual encounters.

Dr. Long now tells patients that based on his research he is confident there is an afterlife.

“My goal is to help (patients) have more healthy days here on Earth,” Dr. Long said. “But I firmly believe that if and when they pass, they will be at peace.”